


After Practice

by dasfreefree, imagine_that_haikyuu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Female!Reader - Freeform, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Reader-Insert, Shiratorizawa Manager!Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasfreefree/pseuds/dasfreefree, https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagine_that_haikyuu/pseuds/imagine_that_haikyuu
Summary: After practice proper, Ushijima asks you to stay late for some extra spiking practice. Little do you know, this practice will lead to an unexpected conversation.
Relationships: Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 257





	After Practice

**Author's Note:**

> This scenario was originally posted on March 15, 2020 to our [tumblr](https://imagine-that-haikyuu.tumblr.com/post/612695845452824576/hello-babe-please-can-you-write-a-scenario-where). Some edits have been made since then.
> 
> Writer: Rachel Lauren
> 
> Anonymous asked: Hello babe! Please can you write a scenario where reader is shiratorizawa's manager *2nd year* and she's Ushijima's crush and one day she offers him to toss him some balls in the "gym"??? Late while no one's around and they talk while practicing and he keeps hinting that he likes her and he wants to ask her out and they both a blush mess? thank you!

Ushijima has little doubt that Shirabu and Eita will set up a toss he can’t hit, but even he knows mistakes happen. There’s nothing more affirming than being able to land a spike even when the toss to him goes askew. It’s an exercise in honing dependability as a skill.

Thankfully, he has good help with that today. Team practice ended some time ago, but he’s still on the court. You’re nearby with the cart full of volleyballs by your side. Maybe he should have asked his teammates to do this instead, or even one of the underclassmen who aren’t yet on the starting line-up. As team manager, you’re not obligated to stay during any free practices, but any time Ushijima asks for your assistance, you’re more than glad to aid in any way you can.

That and this was his teammates idea in the first place. As a third year, Ushijima doesn’t get a whole lot of time to interact with you–a second-year–outside of the context of volleyball. Reon may have been the first to pick up on Ushijima’s crush on you. Even though he never once said it aloud, he wonders what tipped him off; he’s hardly the type to make those things obvious. It may just be instinct, and by virtue of the fact that the two have been playing together longer than anyone else on the team.

He remembers the conversation unfolding in the clubroom after practice one night. 

“Otani in Kawanishi’s class is pretty cute, but Endo in class 3-1 is the ideal. How about you, Ushijima?”

“His type is (L/N),” Reon throws out with a bit of a playful grin. Ushijima turns to him with one eyebrow cocked. Tendou nods thoughtfully at this, eyes closed and a finger to his chin in contemplation.

“Oh, so a sports team captain and manager scenario is your thing, Wakatoshi-kun? I should have known,” Tendou hums.

“Wait, how do you even know that?” Semi asks Reon.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

They both look to Ushijima who’s returned to gathering his belongings. He offers little hints as to where Reon’s assertion comes from. Semi shakes his head.

Reon shrugs, still grinning all the while. “Well, I guess it’s just intuition then.”

“Reon’s right. I find (L/N) very cute,” Ushijima finally says. A silence falls over the room at his sudden confession. In typical fashion, there’s no hesitation to his statement, no hint of embarrassment, only a statement of his truth. “She can also keep up with my volleyball schedule.”

“Well, yeah, she has to. She’s our manager,” Semi adds.

Tendou suggests with a casual wave, “You should have her help you do extra practice so you can get in some more (L/N) time.”

And from there, the plan starts to unfold. After discussing the best course of action, Ushijima is given what he can only hope is proper ammunition by his teammates. The next day, once practice proper concludes, he asks for your help with additional spiking practice.

“Of course!” you agree. There’s a twinkle in your eye and a slight blush across your cheeks as you go to retrieve the ball cart. Ushijima readies himself while you roll the cart over and take the first ball out. “Ready?”

He nods. You give the volleyball a toss up into the air. You’ve watched Shirabu and Semi set to him enough times to know roughly how high and how far away from the net he likes to spike from. It’s by no means perfect–you’re not a volleyball player after all–but Ushijima seems to have little trouble with it. Still, you decide to inquire about it.

“Was that a good toss?” you question.

Ushijima freezes. If you had to describe the expression on his face, it would be “lost in thought.” The team prepped him for this exact scenario the night before.

* * *

_“She’ll probably ask you at some point, ‘Was that toss good?’” Tendou says. “Knowing you, you’ll probably just give her a hard yes or no, but that won’t do! If she asks, tell her that any toss she gives you is a good one.”_

_Ushijima blinks. “But that isn’t helpful for either of us.”_

_Tendou drops his head with a huff, but quickly regains his composure. “Um, it’ll be helpful in your love life. You’re welcome.”_

_“And we’re letting Tendou give out dating advice because?” Semi asks._

_“Because you’re going on zero dates with that piss poor sense of fashion, Semisemi.”_

_At this point, Ushijima tunes them both out, as they don’t offer him much more advice and spend the next few minutes bickering instead._

* * *

“Any toss you give me is a good toss.”

There’s complete silence from you after he says this. Expecting a response, Ushijima watches your face journey. From an open mouth and slightly-widened eyes, to furrowed brows and a cocked head, finally to a wide grin with a giggle that’s practically music to his ears.

“I’ve never heard you joke like that before, Ushijima-san,” you admit, trying to curb your laughter. 

His teammates didn’t prepare him for this response. No, they assumed you’d get flushed and flustered, then try to quickly bring it back to spiking practice. There was no plan for you thinking he was joking around. He’s flying solo now, and he’s going to handle this the only way he knows how.

“That wasn’t a joke,” he says. It effectively wipes the grin off of your face. “I will hit whatever you toss to me. Otherwise, I’d be wasting both of our efforts.”

It’s something he remembers his dad mentioning to him when he was younger: that relationships are a give and take. If he ever found the right person, he would have to lay down the groundwork for a partnership. He’s been told he can be selfish as a volleyball player, but even he knows that this goes beyond his own desires.

His words now have left you a little flustered, if the way you start stammering is any indication of that. “Um, you–I–this is very unlike you, Ushijima-san.” You cough once to clear your throat. “ Is everything alright?”

He shakes his head and takes a step toward you. “You bring out something different in me, and I don’t necessarily mind that.”

Now you’re a blushing mess. You cup your hands to your cheeks, hoping to mask the telltale sign of your embarrassment. Despite this, you can’t look at him. Your eyes are fixed firmly to the gym floor as he approaches.

“Wh-what? Come on, you really must be teasing me now. Did Tendou put you up to this or–”

“I like you, (L/N) (F/N).”

Maybe it’s too formal to call you by your full name, but saying those words aloud is enough to make him smile. It invigorates him, differently from how a good volleyball match does, but it fires him up almost all the same. Ushijima’s smiles, while small and very rare, are never forced. Between the fingers you’re now peering at him through, you catch a glimpse of his smile. The stuttering and stammering stop. You slowly let your hands fall back to your side. Your face is still warm, but it’s a sweeter warmth. 

Giving him a smile of your own–the one that he gradually fell for over the past year–you return his sentiment. 

“I like you too.”


End file.
